BHCC Receives Somerville Housing Authority Grant

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Aug 09, 2010, 01:13 ET

BOSTON, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bunker Hill Community College received a $23,000 grant from the Somerville Housing Authority to support an innovative educational model targeting residents of Somerville's Mystic housing project who are currently attending BHCC. The project, funded by the Somerville Housing Authority, and known as SomerPromise will begin in the Fall 2010 semester.

For the SomerPromise Program, BHCC plans to work hand in hand with the Somerville Housing Authority and Somerville Public Schools. Students will receive faculty/staff and peer support in advancing their college education and supporting their children's/siblings' elementary school education, thereby developing a holistic, family-oriented approach to educational success.

There are currently 42 Mystic residents attending BHCC and it is anticipated that approximately 25 of these residents will participate in the program. The other "partner" in the program is the Healey Elementary School, also in Somerville. All of the BHCC students participating in the program also have children or siblings attending the Healey Elementary School.

SomerPromise will operate as a "Common Interest Learning Community" (CIC) at BHCC. Learning communities are the cornerstone of BHCC's student success agenda funded through a five-year Title III grant of nearly $1.9 million from the Department of Education, with the aim of increasing student retention by 15%, persistence by 10%, and program completion by 5% by 2012. CIC Learning Communities are designed to bring together students with common goals.

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 11,700 students on two campuses and at four satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 700 international students who come from more than 95 countries and speak 75 different languages.

SOURCE Bunker Hill Community College